Your reviews are gone, but only for visitors
You open your site and the reviews are there. A customer tells you the page looks empty. Or you check on your phone and the space where the widget sat has closed up. Nothing in the page code changed.
That pattern points to a view limit. Elfsight's help centre says a widget over its monthly views stops showing for visitors, "as though it was never installed". If you are logged in to your Elfsight account in the same browser, you see a deactivation message in its place instead, and Elfsight also emails you. The widget comes back by itself on the next view refresh date, or when you upgrade.
How fast 200 views run out
A view is every time the widget loads: each page it sits on, each reload, each share link. Elfsight counts your own visits too, unless you stay logged in. So the number goes faster than it sounds.
Take a small shop that puts the widget on its product pages. If 20 people a day open three product pages each, that is about 1,800 loads a month. On a 200-view plan the widget would be gone in the first four days, and visitors would see no reviews for the rest of the month. One busy weekend after a newsletter can use it up even on a quieter site.
Free review widgets and their limits
| Widget | Free views | When they run out | Free review cap | Where reviews come from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elfsight | 200 a month per app | The widget disappears until the next refresh date | Not stated | Pulled from Google and other sites |
| Tagembed | 300 a month | Not stated on its pages | 100 posts | Pulled |
| EmbedSocial | 500 a month per account | Every widget stops showing until the 1st | 500 reviews | Mostly pulled |
| Trustindex (free account) | Not stated | Widgets show for 7 days, then stop | Not stated | Pulled and your own |
| Trustindex (WordPress plugin) | No limit | Does not apply | 10 reviews per widget | Pulled from one Google profile |
| Shapo | No limit | Does not apply | 15 testimonials shown | Both |
| Senja | Not stated | Testimonials past 15 are hidden | 15 | Both |
| Featurable | No limit | Does not apply | 15 reviews, 1 widget | Pulled from Google |
| Famewall | Not stated | Not stated | 10 testimonials, 1 wall | Both |
| Testimonial.to | Not stated | New ones arrive but stay locked | 10 text and 2 video | Your own |
| Formgong | No limit, on any plan | Does not apply | No limit on reviews | Your own, with photos and video |
Two of these hide reviews in a different way. Trustindex's free account shows widgets for seven days only, and its WordPress plugin, which has no view limit, shows 10 reviews per widget. Shapo, Senja and Featurable never switch the widget off, but past 15 testimonials or reviews the rest stay hidden until you upgrade.
What you can do about it
If the limit is the cause, there are three ways out. You can upgrade the plan, which is what the limit is there for. You can move the widget off busy pages, so it loads less. Or you can switch to a widget that does not count views.
Formgong's review widget serves the same reviews whether it loads ten times a month or ten thousand. There is no view counter and no plan check on the widget at all. The free plan has no limit on reviews or review sites, takes photo and video reviews, and lets you approve each one before it shows. A small Formgong link sits under the widget on Free.
Getting reviews to show in the first place
A widget that never disappears still needs reviews in it. This is where most free widgets leave you on your own, and where Formgong's free plan does the most work:
- Emails after each order, in your store's name. The buyer gets your logo and colours, can rate inside Gmail without leaving the email, and gets one reminder if they do not. Replies come to you. There is no email service of your own to set up (how it works).
- Reviews from your contact form. People who sent you an enquiry can get a review request automatically after the job.
- Photo, video and voice reviews. A customer can attach photos and a video, or record a short voice review that arrives transcribed.
- Your old reviews come with you. Import files from Judge.me, Yotpo, Loox, Shopify Product Reviews, WooCommerce, Etsy, Wix or a CSV.
- You decide what shows. Approve each review or pick a publishing mode, reply in public or in private, and send a Google Merchant Center feed of your product reviews.
Pulled reviews or your own
Most widgets with a view limit show reviews they pull from Google or Facebook. That is quick to set up, and it is the main reason to stay with them: you already have the reviews, and the widget just displays them.
Formgong works the other way round. It collects reviews from your own customers, by a link, a form on your site, or an email after an order, and shows them per product. If what you need is your existing Google reviews on your homepage, a puller like Elfsight or the Trustindex plugin does that job, and Formgong does not pull from Google. If you sell products and want reviews on each product page that stay up all month, collecting your own is the better fit. You can also add reviews to a website in a few lines of HTML.
What Formgong Reviews includes for free
- Unlimited review sites and reviews. Text, photo, video and voice reviews on Free.
- A widget with no view limit. The review widget, carousel, badge and stars in product lists load as often as your pages do.
- Review emails in your store's name. Sent after each order with your logo and colours, replies to you, no email service to set up; buyers can rate inside Gmail without leaving the email, and get one reminder (how it works).
- Bring your old reviews. Import from Judge.me, Yotpo, Loox, Shopify Product Reviews, WooCommerce, Etsy or a CSV.
- You decide what shows. Approve each review or choose a publishing mode, reply in public or in private, and let shoppers ask the author a question.
- Google. A Merchant Center review feed, and product rating markup through the WordPress plugin.
- Reviews from your form. People who filled in your contact form can get a review request automatically.
- One account for the rest. Contact forms with Telegram and Google Sheets, an AI help chat, and free website templates.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my Elfsight widget not showing on my website?
The most common cause on the free plan is the view limit: 200 loads a month per app. Over it, the widget disappears for visitors until the next refresh date. Elfsight's help centre also lists a hidden or deleted widget as causes.
Do my own visits count toward the Elfsight view limit?
Yes, unless you stay logged in to your Elfsight account in the same browser, according to Elfsight's help centre.
Which free review widgets have no view limit?
Of the 12 we checked on 31 October 2026: Formgong, Shapo, Featurable and the Trustindex WordPress plugin. Shapo, Featurable and the Trustindex plugin cap how many reviews they show instead (15, 15 and 10).
Can Formgong show my Google reviews?
No. Formgong collects reviews from your own customers and shows them per product. To display reviews already on Google, use a tool that pulls them, such as Elfsight or the Trustindex plugin.
Is there a free review widget that also sends review requests?
Formgong's free plan does both: the widget has no view limit, and review emails go out after each order in your store's name, with a star rating buyers can give inside Gmail and one reminder.
Sources and documentation
Official references for this guide: Elfsight Google Reviews pricing, Elfsight: views limit, Elfsight: widget deactivated, Elfsight: widget not displayed, EmbedSocial: plan limits, Tagembed pricing, Formgong review widget. Formgong Reviews docs, where data is stored.